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Danger in the Gulf from Abandoned Ships as One Grounds in Iran

abandoned ship drifting on fire in Persian Gulf
The Abandoned Thai bulker washed up ashore in Iran two weeks after it was struck (Royal Thai Navy)

Published Mar 27, 2026 1:02 PM by The Maritime Executive


Iranian officials on Friday, March 27, reported that one of the abandoned vessels has now drifted across the Persian Gulf and grounded on one of their islands. The danger from the 20 commercial ships that have been attacked since the start of the war adds another danger to the range of issues for the ships stuck in the Gulf or seeking Iranian permission to exit.

The Thai-flagged bulker Mayuree Naree (30,000 dwt) was struck, it is believed, by two projectiles on March 11, causing an explosion and fire in the engine room of the vessel. The Omani Navy rescued 20 crewmembers after they abandoned ship into life rafts. At the time, the ship was reported to have been about 11 nautical miles off Oman and the western side of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Tasmin News Agency is quoting the mayor of the village of Ramchah, who said that the Thai vessel had drifted across the waterway and grounded on the southern coast of Qeshm Island, north of Larak Island. They are reporting that they inspected the ship and found no crewmembers.

 

Burning ship identified as Safeen Prestige abandoned in the Gulf for three weeks (UANI)

 

Precious Shipping of Thailand, which owns the vessel, confirmed the report to local media. At the same time, the Thai Foreign Ministry said a team from Oman and Iran had reached the ship and searched it. Three crewmembers remain unaccounted for. They were believed to have been in the engine room when the vessel was struck. 

Prescious Shippin had reported that the ship did not have a cargo aboard and was traveling in ballast and apparently attempting to exit through the Strait of Hormuz when it was struck. However, the concern is that the ship has an undetermined amount of fuel aboard.

It is one of several vessels thought to pose an added danger in the region. Multiple reports have said that the UAE-controlled containership Safeen Prestige is also thought to be still burning three weeks after it was struck on March 4. A salvage tug had been sent to the vessel two days later, but it too was struck, killing at least four of the seven people onboard.

 

 

Unconfirmed reports suggested that the ship may have been struck a second time by the Iranians. The NGO United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) released satellite pictures on March 18 showing smoke coming from a vessel that it identified as the Safeen Prestige.

A video widely circulating on the internet is being wrongfully labeled as another tanker on fire that attempted to exit the Strait of Hormuz without permission. It is, in fact, the Safeen Prestige shown fully engulfed. The date of the unconfirmed video is unclear, but the ship is clearly identifiable. Flames can be seen, and the fire has spread from the bow to the deckhouse. It is unclear if the ship is anchored or drifting.